On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the walls of the U.S. Embassy
in Teheran, taking 52 Americans hostage with hopes of exchanging them for the
recently-deposed Shah. What ensued was a 444-day ordeal which would last long
after the despised despot died in exile without standing trial.

While that drawn-out standoff continued to occupy the world’s attention
as front-page news, almost no one knew that a half-dozen Americans had
managed to steal away unnoticed during the assault and taken refuge in the
home of the Canadian Ambassador, Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). And the
discovery of their whereabouts by the rabidly anti-Western, Khomeini regime
would have undoubtedly triggered another international incident.

So, they surreptitiously contacted the CIA which assigned their rescue to
Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), an exfiltration specialist with a perfect record
of freeing captives from such perilous predicaments. Agent Mendez proceeded
to hatch an attention-grabbing scheme that was the antithesis of the sort of
clandestine operation one might expect of a spy.

His high-profile plan involved creating a cover for the stranded
diplomats by making a movie that was actually nothing more than a CIA front.
First, he enlisted the assistance of a veteran Hollywood executive (Alan
Arkin) and an Oscar-winner (John Goodman) sworn to secrecy, to lend an air
of authenticity to the ruse by posing as the picture’s producer and makeup
artist, respectively.

Figuring, “If you want to spread a lie, get the press to sell it for
you,“ they launched the project at an elaborate press conference attended by
actors in gaudy costumes. The media fell for it hook, line and sinker, and
soon Tinseltown was abuzz about Argo, an upcoming sci-fi set to be shot on
location in Iran. Truth be told, Mendez would be the only person venturing
on the dangerous mission to Teheran where the film’s tone shifts from flip
and lighthearted to stone cold sober. Upon arriving at the ambassador’s
house, the hero hands the six Americans newly-prepared passports with fresh
identities as members of a Canadian film crew.

The tension rapidly ratchets-up in intensity as the ever-vigilant Iranian
authorities close-in just as the diplomats make their escape to the airport
where the slightest slip during an interrogation could mean the difference
between life and death. An edge-of-your-seat thriller not to be forgotten at
Oscar time!